The Girl Next Door
by LittleKanra
Summary: (John Watson x Reader) You moved into your own apartment. Luckly you found one in the center of London: Baker Street. However, you forget you keys one day and did not mangage to enter your apartment. You sat outside and thought what you could do right now when a handsom man arrived and helped you. Your personal knight in a shining armor.
1. Your new apartment

There you are. In front of your new apartment but you cannot find your keys to open the door. Perfect! You empty your whole bag on the stairs and hope to find the keys now. Unfortunately you did not.

It's dark and you can hardly see your own hands. Every item is only a black shadow and nothing looks like a key.  
You find your smartphone, chopstick and some tissue, but no keys.

Frustrated about yourself, your put all your stuff back into your back in a hurry and sit down.  
For a moment you wonder if you should keep the tissues outside, because you feel like crying, but you decide not to. You will not cry here and now – hopefully.

And now here you are. Sitting on the stairs in front of your apartment in the middle of the night. In an area you do not know, because you moved in yesterday.  
Yes, you moved to London just a few hours ago and went on an exploring walk this afternoon. In your excitement you let your keys stuck in the keyhole of your apartment door.

"I will always check twice to make sure I've got my keys in the future", you mumble to yourself and bury your head in your hands.

"What should I do? I cannot wake up any of my neighbors at", you look at your watch to figure out what time it is, "3 o'clock am."

That's right. Ringing the bell in the middle of the night will not make you their favorite neighbor and you do not want to cause any trouble after only one day. So far everyone was nice to you and welcomed you in the house and told you to ask them if you need anything. The householder was a woman who lived above your apartment with 2 cats. She seems unfriendly at first, but you're sure to get along with her soon.

You start looking for your keys again. You look into your bag once more and make sure to check every pocket, but without any luck.

The only new item you find was a pack chewing gum.

You put the gum back in your pocket and sigh.

"Great I guess I have to wait until someone wakes up and lets me in."

The streets are empty and you do not expect to see anyone this night, so you lay down on the hard ground and close your eyes. Hopefully nobody will call the police, because seeing someone sleeping in front of a house could be misunderstood.

"Better to catch some sleep now", you think and try to fall asleep.

However it does not work.  
The ground makes your back ache and your brain will not shut up. Still you keep your eyes closed until you hear a voice.

"Excuse me miss."

Without opening your eyes you knew it was a man.  
"Are you alright? Do you need some help?"  
You open your eyes.

Before you kneels a young man with blond hair and looks at you worried. He is actually pretty cute which does not make your situation better. Your cheeks start to blush, because the whole situation is pretty embarrassing.  
"I bet he thinks I'm stupid and oh god, I must look terrible", you think and run your finger through your hair to get rid of some knots.

"I am fine... I guess. I forgot my key in my apartment and does not want to wake any of my neighbors", you explain him your current situation and smile embarrassed.  
You tried and failed to look at him and keep your sight glued to the ground in front of you.

"Nonsense", he answers while standing but and walking around you to the door.  
You stand up quickly and wonder what the mysterious man is about to do.  
"Before you sleep outside and could catch a cold wake them up."

The man rings the bell of the neighbor who lives above your apartment: The householder.  
Dear god! No you're dead and she will never like you!  
"No! Please don't do this", you beg him, but he does not stop. The ringing keeps going until you hear someone opening a door inside.

Finally the man stops to ring and you step a little bit behind him. This is the worst night you had in your entire life. You wish a big whole will open under your feed and you could disappear in it.

"Oh my god! She will hate me", you worry and start to shiver slightly.  
"Why should she", the man wonders and rises an eyebrow.  
"I just moved in yesterday and am already causing trouble", you explain.

He seems to understand your worry now.  
The door in front of you both opens and a woman looks at you angry.

"What is so bloody important to wake me up in the middle of the night?"

You try to explain what happens but no words are coming out of your mouth. Instead you stand there opening and closing your moth like a fish. Once more you managed to look like a completely idiot in front of people. Great.

Luckily the gentleman next to you explains the woman your situation. She nods and leaves quickly, but makes sure the door is open, so you can finally enter the house.  
You do not know what to say. The woman left and you can enter your apartment now.

"Thank you a lot", you smile at the man and realize you do not know his name.  
You didn't ask him anything so far, but now after the problem is solved you feel the urge to ask him thousand of questions.

"I could not let a beautiful young lady sleep on the stairs", he gins at you and you can't help yourself and start to giggle. Is he flirting with you after what happened?

"How rude of me. I never introduced myself", the young man said, "my name is John, John Watson, and I live across the street."  
"It's nice to meet you John. My name is [yn] [ln]."

You do not know what to say. Should you thank him once more, ask him if he would like to meet you again or just start a conversation?  
Everything seems wired, so you decided to wave him goodbye.

John seems to not mind to leave and wishes you a good night before he leaves.  
You stand a little bit longer in the hallway and watch him walking to the other side of the street and opening the door to the apartment across from yours.

John turns around one more time and looks at you what makes you wave at him and grin like an completely idiot.  
He waves back and smiles friendly at you before you close the door.

"What a nice man", you think.


	2. Time to meet your new neighbors

What a beautiful day!  
You decided to thank the friendly neighbor from yesterday and buy him something sweet, maybe a little cake.

Of cause you should buy something for your landlady as well, otherwise she could be angry at you for the next few weeks and you don't want this to happen.

You grab your purse and go out of your apartment, only to hold on for a second and to make sure you didn't forget your keys. Happy about finding them in your bag, you lock the door and step outside.

The sun is shining and you look over the street to the apartment where John lives.

The curtains are shut behind the windows and you start to wonder if he's still sleeping. Sleeping? Maybe… after all he was still outside at 3 o'clock yesterday. He must be exhausted.

You, on the other hand, are full of energy and ready to get some stuff done before your motivation is gone.

Unfortunately you don't know where exactly the next bakery is, so you randomly pick a direction and start walking. Sooner or later there has to be a bakery or another shop where you can buy something for your knight in the shining armor.

At least you hope so.  
London is a big city with many different streets so you could get lost easily.

Luckily only after a few streets there is already a bakery with fresh baked goods.  
And it's open!

You check your watch quickly to see what time it is: 10.30.  
It's not too early, but also not too late. The perfect time to buy some cake before all the good ones are sold out.

You enter the bakery and enjoy the view.  
The little shop is lovely decorated with pictured of cupcakes and there are little tables to sit at. The whole shop is light and you feel comfortable in here and can't stop smiling.  
Shops like this make you very happy.  
They feel like home, because they are not too big and right now there are also no customers.

You take the opportunity to step closer to the counter with all the little pastry, cupcakes, cakes and other baked goods.

A door on your right side opens and a young lady with an apron enters the room.

"Good morning, how can I help you?"

The young lady walks behind the counter and smiles at you.  
She has still a little bit of flour on her right cheek, but doesn't seem to notice or care.  
This is a bakery after all.

"Emm… hi", you smile back at her and look at the little cakes once more.

"I haven't decided yet what I'll buy. I need one more minute to think", you explain her.  
What if John doesn't like sweet things?  
Maybe he will throw it away right after you left.

You shake your head and try to focus.  
Even when he doesn't like it, you want to thank him and be nice to him.  
I believe he will be happy after all. The same goes for your landlady who got woken up by John yesterday.

"I think I take two of those little cakes, please", you tell the young lady and she nodes.

"They are lovely, aren't they?"  
She makes conversation while putting the cake in a box.

"Yes they are. I like the size. It's not too big – just lovely", you admire the decoration on the cake and can't wait to see how John will react once he sees it.

"Here you go", she places two boxes on the counter and smiles at you once more.  
"That would be 20 Pounds."

You pay quickly, take the boxes and turn around.  
Suddenly you see a poster on the window. You step closer to the poster and start reading: "Help Wanted."

"Excuse me, Miss", you turn around to the lady once more and point with your free hand to the poster. "Is the working place still free?"

This is perfect! You need a job and planed looking for one this evening on the internet.

"Yes, are you interesting in working here?" She never stops smiling at you.

"Yes, I would like to work here", you answer quickly.

"Okay, Miss", she rushes out of the room and you place the boxes with your cake back on the counter. After a few seconds, the lady comes back with a sheet of paper in her hand.

"On this paper is all the information. Just read it through at home and call us tomorrow", she explains and you nod to show her you understood and will call her tomorrow.  
You put the paper in your bag, grab the boxes once more and leave the bakery.

It only takes you 15 minutes to walk home and at home you put one box with the cake in it in the fridge. You check the clock, 12:30, and take the other box in your hand.  
You climb the stairs up to reach your landlady's apartment.  
After you knocked the door opens and you grin at the older lady quickly.

"Hello", you hold the box in front of you, "I want to apologize for yesterday and brought some cake."

The lady smiled at you and thanks you for the present.

"Do you want to come inside, dear, and have a cup of tea?"

"Oh! I would love to, but I have no time right now. I'm very sorry", you tell her and wave her goodbye soon.

At home you take the second box quickly and walk to John's apartment.  
You rush to the other side of the street and look at the door: 221B Baker Street. That is the door he opened yesterday.

You knocked and waited.  
After a few seconds you can hear someone walking to the door quickly.  
The door opens and you look at a woman, not John.

"Oh! Am I at the wrong door?" You're embarrassed and look at the older lady apologizing.

"Oh dear, it depends to who you want. Maybe I can help you", the lady tells you and smiles at you.

Somehow everyone seems so nice to you and you don't know why.  
Maybe it is the usual way to talk to people in this area.

"I'm looking for a man called John Watson", you tell her and wait for the answer.

"Oh, he lives here, but they boys never open the door", she signs and opens the door more.  
"He lives in the apartment upstairs", she tells you and points to the stairs to your left.

"Thank you."

You walk slowly upstairs and realize how old the house is.  
Old and very nice at the same time. You like it here and can imagine John walking around and talking to his landlady before he rushes outside to go to work.

You knock at the door and wait once more.  
You wait and wait, but nobody opens the door, therefore you knock once more.  
Now you hear someone yelling from the other side.

"Sherlock! Open the door, I'm busy!"

This is John voice, but he doesn't sound as nice as yesterday which makes you shiver a little bit. Maybe you should leave and come back later. He's busy after all.  
But before you can turn around a man, who is clearly not John Watson, opens the door.

"A client?" The man with black curly hair wears only a robe and waves you inside.

"Sit down", he says and motions to a wooden chair without looking at you, while he sits down on one of the two armchairs.

"How can I help you and don't make me bored", says the man and you wonder if you're really in the right apartment.

"I'm looking for John Watson."

You hear a crash sound behind a door and see a second man running in the living room, where you are sitting right now.  
At first you wonder who this is, but after a while you recognize him.  
It's John.  
He looks like he was shaving a moment ago, because half of his face is covered in shaving cream


	3. Let's talk for a while

You look at John for a few seconds and you can't stop smiling.  
He looks rather cute. Standing in front of you with half of his face covered in shaving cream and looking at you like this is not real and has to be a dream/ nightmare.

"John, wash your face. This is not a proper way to greet a guest", says the man with the black locks and keeps staring at you.

John mumbles something and rushes back, to what you guess must be the bathroom, to clean his face.  
This man must have woken up a few minutes ago, but it is nearly 1 o'clock.  
The other man is still staring at you and makes you a little nervous. He doesn't say anything just looks at you.

"I didn't introduce myself", you try to start a conversation to stop the awkward silent.

"My name is [y/n] and I moved in the apartment across the street two days ago."

"I know", answers the man bored by your story.

You're surprised by the answer and don't know what to say.  
The only word that runs in your mind is: "What?"

The man sighs and looks away for a moment, just to continue to look at you shortly.

"You moved here 2 days ago from Manchester. This is your first own apartment and you have met John yesterday. He helped you with something I don't know yet and you want to thank him with a cake I guess", tells you the man and you are shocked.

"How do you know all of this? Did John say anything?"

"No of cause not. This is obvious", explains the man more or less to you.

However you still wonder how he has done this and want to ask him more questions to figure it out, but John arrives in the living room and caches your attention right away.  
After all he is the reason why you are here in the first place.

"Sorry to let you wait, [y/n]", apologizes John.

"I hope Sherlock wasn't too impolite to you", says John with a worried expression on his face.

"No, no he wasn't", you tell him, but John doesn't seem to believe you and glares at the man who's name seem to be Sherlock.

You stand up from the chair you were sitting in and walk over to John to give him the box with the cake in it.

"I wanted to thank you for helping me yesterday. I brought some cake in a bakery I found here and hope you'll like it. I don't know if you like sweets or not so if you don't want it I can get you another one", you keep talking and talking and with every word you can feel your cheeks heat up more.

"No, it's fine. I like cake", tells John and makes you relax a little bit more.

"Do you want to stay a little bit longer and have a cup of tea", asks John and you can't help but start to smile.

"I'd love to", you tell him and follow John in the kitchen.

Sherlock doesn't say a word, but you can feel him looking at you again.  
This guy scares you a little bit, but you hope you will get comfortable around him soon.

"Sorry about the mess in there. Sherlock uses the kitchen for his experiments", explains John and you just nod and let your view wander around the room.

John opens the box and puts the cake on the table. He looks at it for a while and grabs a knife to cut two slices and put them on a plate while the water for the tea is boiling.

"Sherlock, do you want some cake as well?"

"Just tea for me, thanks."

You don't say a word and watch John making the tea und placing everything on a little tablet.  
He carries everything back into the living room.  
You three sit there together on the couch and for the first few minutes nobody dares to talk.

You don't talk, because you don't know what to say.  
The same goes for John.  
Sherlock doesn't talk, because he doesn't want to.

"So [y/n]", starts John after a while and you look at him.

"It's really nice to see you again", he tells you a little bit embarrassed.  
You just nod and take a small sip from you tea.

"I was wondering", says John once more and got interrupted by Sherlock signing and rolling his eyes in annoyance.

"Is something the matter, Sherlock?" John seems to be annoyed at his friend for interrupting him, but Sherlock doesn't seem to care much about it.

"Just spit it out. We have a case and not much time left", adds Sherlock and takes a sip from his tea.

Of cause you have no idea what they are talking about.  
You just look at John and raise an eyebrow at him so show him how confused you are right now.  
He however signs and looks you in the eyes.

"Like Sherlock already mentioned", he glares at his friend one more time, "We are a little bit in a hurry and have to leave soon. Therefore I am wondering if you would like to continue our little chat another day."

Before you have the opportunity to answer and share your thoughts with them, John talks once more.

"Of cause not here", he adds, "Maybe in a nice café."

"Are you asking me out, Mr. Watson?" You feel how a wide grin places itself on your face.

"Yes, he does", interrupts Sherlock and stand up to grab his coat.

You and John both stand up as well and get ready to leave soon.

"I would love to meet you again, Jon", you tell him and he smiles at you like a little boy on Christmas.

"Great, let's exchange cell phone numbers and I'll call you", he suggests and you do what he wishes for.

Soon everybody, you included, leaves the apartment and you walk to the other side of the street home to your little flat. Once you're home you lay down on the couch and stare at your phone.  
You're wondering if he'll text you this evening or maybe tomorrow morning and get a little bit excided.

While you're on the couch Sherlock and John are traveling to Scotland Yard, but John can't stop thinking how cute you are.  
The fact that you brought him a little present to thank him makes you even more adorable and he can't wait to see you again.

He wants to call you right now, but that would be creepy so he decides to wait until tomorrow to text you casually.


End file.
